Arthur DeVitalis, Nederland. The Mine Shaft Restaurant in Nederland recently celebrated its first year, and a crazy first year it was.
Chef Martina Cook opened up March 13, 2020. “We had three days of operations and got shut down March 16. It was pretty much me in here doing all the cooking and to go orders,” she said. “Then I started family specials, like good comfort-food take-home meals. To this day, I still do weekly specials.”
She continued through Covid-19 offering food for families at an affordable price. She figures the cost of living, travel and rent are high enough, but doesn’t sacrifice quality in the dishes either. The pandemic drove the cost and scarcity of supplies up, which she says was difficult initially. The price of gloves and of course, hand sanitizer jumped up and flew off the shelves.
“My motto is actually comfort food with a southern flair at an affordable price,” Martina said. “I would rather the people come and enjoy my living room, my home three times a month instead of once every three months by overpricing them. All my food is handmade. There’s nothing out of a bag here.”
They’re protective with precautions due to Covid-19, and she likes being in a community that cares about its health and others’. But she also can’t wait for the return of live music, hopefully in the summer.
A huge seller on the menu is Angus burgers. Specials have included gumbo, crawfish, and fresh walleye throughout the warm months of the year as well. She did take home dishes during Thanksgiving last year. There’s a little bit of southern flair in everything, too.
“I’ve grown up in the restaurant industry. As a child my grandparents owned restaurants in a small town the size of Nederland,” she said. “I bounced back and forth in restaurants. I was doing dishes at six and seven, and cooking at eight. When people come for it, I love to see them smile. The greatest thing I can do is walk through the dining room and nod their heads yes when they take a bite.”
Some of Cook’s recipes like the biscuits and gravy, chicken and dumplings, and gumbo, are recipes no one will ever see.
“If I didn’t do it right for you, my grandparents would come out of their grave,” she laughed. “But it’s knowledge you don’t even realize you have. There’s techniques I knew that I didn’t even know I knew, [and wouldn’t have] if I hadn’t grown up in that.”
Her partner went through culinary school, and owned two restaurants in Alabama. The duo continue with The Mine Shaft today. The restaurant is even dog friendly, offering a cheap bowl of five ounces of grilled chicken for $5. Happy hour is always popular, with 13 different brews on tap and special cocktails that vary per bartender.
“We make silly names of them, but yes we do,” she laughed. “We have a Tony Baloney, for instance. We name them after the staff sometimes. We have very experienced bartenders here.”
Happy Hour happens from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day of the week. They’re next to the breweries, and the only other venue to offer 13 taps. Specials rotate in and out.
“It’s like a gift that we’re giving to the community; it feels like [that],” she smiled. “The love and food is what we seek.”
The Mine Shaft is located at 35 E First Street in Nederland. Check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheMineShaftNederland or give them a call at (303) 258-0649.
(Originally published in the April 29, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
